Part 2 of 6: The Concession Stand: A pleasant and comfortable brew

This is the second in a series on the Stanley Park Brewing’s Concession Stand mingler pack. Comprised of two bottles of their Noble Pilsner, DayTrip West Coast Lager, Windstorm West Coast Pale Ale, 1897 Amber Ale, SunSetter Peach Wheat Ale, and Summer IPA.

A bit of a play on words, Stanley Park Brewing’s Noble Pilsner might at first seem to reflect the noble firs of its namesake. However, in reality it is a reference to the use of noble hops in the brewing process. Whatever the case, it turned out to be a pilsner worthy of being called a pilsner.

Here goes nothing

Cracking open the bottle and pouring out the contents, revealed a clear crisp brew with a nice soft head. There was a slight baking yeast scent, with floral, earthy, and mild hop overtones. So far so good.

The first couple of sips had a bit of a unique aftertaste. Nothing wrong really, just a bit different. Admittedly it took me until the second bottle before I really appreciated the qualities of this pilsner-type beer. It had some subtle complexities which are hard to pick up on right away. There was also a faint sweetness which balanced out the beer.

At the end of the day, it went down real easy and was one of the better west coast pilsners I’ve had of late. There is this PNW thing to make every beer taste like a hopped up pale ale. Which really ticks me off, because when Panda wants a pilsner, Panda expects a pilsner. Thankfully Stanley Park Brewing chose to stick closer to the European heritage of a true pilsner.

Pair it with anything

Hook this up with a bowl of nuts, or maybe a smokie and some kettle chips, and you’ve got a pretty fine combination any panda would enjoy. Whatever you drink it with, this is not a beverage that will get in the way of your meal. Enjoy responsibly because this is very easy drinking!